Bargaining for Advantage summary

Back in 1955, a small Japanese company developed a new product: a $29.95 miniature transistor radio. It proved popular in Japan, but the company’s energetic leader, Akio Morita, wasn’t satisfied with just domestic success. 

Morita had high expectations for his product. He wanted to introduce the little transistor radio to the world’s biggest consumer market, the United States. Morita’s small company? Sony.

Let’s say you're a nursing executive involved in budget negotiations at the hospital where you work. You’re looking for money to hire more nurses, but the competition for funding is stiff.

To win the negotiation, you’ll need to appeal to the decision-makers’ own understanding of what’s in the hospital’s best interests. You’ll have to appeal, in other words, to norms that they respect. 

There’s a saying from Kenya that goes, “Leave a good name in case you return.” When applied to business relationships, this means acting with honor and generosity. Simply put, if you treat people right, they’ll treat you right.

The key message here is: Fair, reciprocal relationships are conducive to negotiating. 

Henry Ford said, “If there’s any secret to success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle.” When it comes to negotiating, stepping into the other person’s shoes can offer a real advantage. 

The best negotiators find out what really motivates the other side. They ask themselves, “Why is the other person sitting there?” and make an offer that tries to satisfy those interests. 

Clearly, there are a lot of factors involved in negotiating. Perhaps the most crucial of them, though, is leverage. Leverage gives you the power not just to reach an agreement, but to obtain one on your own terms. 

The key message here is: Leverage is critical to negotiation.

So, you’re sitting at a long boardroom table. Just across from you are some stony-faced executives. They’re whispering to each other, occasionally shaking their heads. One of them stares glumly at the big Rothko print on the wall. 

Clearly, things aren’t going so well. This negotiation has ground to a halt – your guys think the other side is asking for too much, and they think you're being stingy. You can feel your patience fraying. What should you do? Well, first clear your head; then take one small step.

Imagine you’ve wandered into an antique store. Just by the window, amid the dated, unwanted furniture, there’s a beautiful old globe. You see a price tag and turn it over. 

Ah. It’s just a little out of your range. Now the elderly shop owner is slowly making her way toward you. She smiles and strokes the globe lovingly.